Common Habits and Mistakes That Can Cost You Dearly

Common Habits and Mistakes That Can Cost You Dearly

These are common habits and mistakes that people make that cost you money and most people don’t know they are paying this extra money. Eliminate the 5 common habits and put extra money in your bank instead of the credit card company, car dealers, tobacco industry and the power company. The biggest mistake you can make is to paying on student loans and the interest for years after you graduated. Don’t even think about not paying them at all, these are Federal loans, they can garnish payments from your wages including Social Security your Federal income tax until it is paid in full.

Paying only the minimum payment on Credit Cards. Paying the minimum payment on your credit card balance every month keeps your creditors content, but is not helping you pay off the growing interest charges that you make with every payment. Credit card companies list only you minimum payments and interest is calculated on your current balance. With a $3,000 credit balance at 12.99% annually, a minimum payment percent of 12%, a minimum monthly payment of $17.00, for 36 months/ 3 years will pay $291.00 in total interest. Increasing the minimum payment percent to 30%, the minimum monthly payment to $50.00, you could pay it off in 12 months/1 year and the total interest paid would only be $110.00, that is a $181.00 saving. To determine how much you can save by increasing you monthly payment and paying you balance off faster, see www.calculatorweb.com.

Ignoring your student loans. Even though you graduated years ago, it will cost you hundreds of dollars in interest alone just paying the minimum payment and if you stop paying altogether, nonpayment can be garnished from you wages including government income. Pay down that student loan already, it’s costing you dearly in interest charges to carry the balance, so get a calculator and see how you can best afford increasing your payment and paying it off faster.

A drafty attic, windows and doors, A attic without insulation can leak air costing you hundreds of dollars in your heating and cooling every year. Just by adding insulation and weather stripping to your hatch, window and doors making them air tight can save you hundreds of dollars and cut you’re heating and cooling cost by at least 20% or more.

Is buying a brand new car worth the cost, A new car smells great but is that new smell really worth the approximately 11% to 20% is lost just driving it off the lot, 15 -25% the first 5 years you own the care or the 37% after the first 5 years. According to popular car site www.ecdmunds.com if you plan on driving the wheels off your car then buying new is worth the price you pay, if you plan on trading it in think smart about the resale value of your car.

Smoking what’s the real cost to you, The cost of a pack of cigarettes is over $5.00 a pack, not including taxes, depending on where you live. If you buy generic cigarettes, pay just $5.00 per pack and smoke a pack a day, it can cost you $35.00 a week and $1,820 a year. I n 5 years time you will have spent $9,100 on cigarettes and this does not include any health care cost that smoking can cause you or loved ones from second hand smoke, now or in the future. Weather you smoke cigarettes a pipe, cigar, or chew, tobacco is a health care risk that can lead to health care cost you cannot afford.